Self Portrait
by SycoReaperMan
Summary: After Eclipse. The Volturi have done the impossible, they have attacked a human. But why? Why did they strike him and why did they leave his disfigured body in Forks for one kind Doctor to find? Is Edward the only vampire to love a human? Suck at summarie


_Hey there Twilight fans! I am Reaper and this is my own little Twilight fiction. To my one shot fans (if any) this is going to be a novel so prepare to be annoyed with cliff hangers and TBC's =D_

**Chapter 1: New Dark Ages**

The phone rang around 3 AM; I had been in my study reading an old novel by a writer I could never really remember unless I peeked at the cover. I never did of course. If I could sleep I guess this would be around the time most doctors would either be in bed with there wives or laying face down in a pile of paper work or a laptop. But me, I was reading, usually from dusk until the gentle color changes of dawn peeked in through my window. I hadn't been the one to answer it, it was Jasper who did, he was becoming much more at ease with the way his new life had turned out to be. He rested his shoulder against the wood frame of my door and spoke in the usual whisper we used in the house.

"Dad, work."

Just the way he said was strange enough to make me feel human again, he was one of the few he referred to me as there father on nights like this. I turned to face him, our eyes met and a soft smile couldn't help but come to my lips. It wasn't really his specialty that made me smile, more or less how proud of him I had become. He fully accepted us as a family now. I blinked realizing he wasn't smiling back, his face was grim; what had the hospital really told him? I took the phone from his hand and smiled gently watching him walk away now, I listened closely to the background, it seemed usual hospital chitter chatter, the slight hum of many computers and printers, the speaker blasting out names for doctors to come to different rooms. But as I listened I realized they were all going to the same room.

"Dr. Cullen? Are you there sir?"

"Oh yes, hello Vicky it's me. What's wrong?" I did my best to try and sound tired.

"I am sorry to wake you up sir, but there is a serious emergency going on. We found him on the roads leading to the Reservation, he was just lying there, and there weren't any footprints or tracks leading away or towards him. It's the strangest sight I have ever seen. We need you down here ASAP Dr. Cullen."

Oh Vicky the slightly average nurse's aid, if she was calling me it had to be serious, she never spoke with protocol over the phone, that's why the head nurses always had her in other rooms. If she was the only one to call me it had to be serious. Being a vampire is a tough thing, but being a vampire with a sworn duty to help all humans, well its just irony at work.

As I got up I grabbed my lab coat not bothering to put my suite on, it would only take a second literally but the other's would wonder if I had fallen asleep in it or not. Edward was watching Bella no doubt, Emmet and Rosalie were out in the back yard, and Jasper was laying with Alice on the couch just staring at the TV, they were more or less paying attention to each other then the set even if it didn't seem obvious. Esme would be waiting by the garage door, her beautiful face looking into mine with wonder and confusion.

"Work?" she spoke softly.

I just nodded and put on a grim frown to show it was serious, she held out the keys to the Jeep. I took them and kissed her cheek quickly before shifting with my speed into the driver's seat. The last thing I saw before zooming off of that land was her face, my Esme, my wife, my soul, my life in another body.

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I had arrived at the hospital around 15 minutes after leaving my beloved's side. When it's this late in forks the streets remind me of the old day wandering around the world, the quiet, the peace, the absolute emptiness, no life to be seen for miles. I was thinking as driving as I so often do. Alice didn't seem upset when I left, could she have not seen this? Was this just such a random act that it has no real threat to our world or the world around? Was it as bad as Vicky said or am I getting up in the middle of a night of studying just to check some wolf bite?

I stepped out of the car quickly locking it behind me even though no one would dare try to steal it, not in this town anyways. As I entered the hospital the smell hit me and I knew this wasn't going to be a fun night. It was everywhere, the smell of blood, blood and death. It burned the back of my throat made my eyes want to water and my nose want to burn into cinders, but somehow… it attracted me. It made me hungry as always but I fought it with my might.

There were only two nurses at the front; they all greeted me with small smiles, even though usually I got the loving glare of humans due to the way I look. But this night it seemed there were more pressing matters on the minds of those who could die. I put on my lab coat and cleaned my hands just for show of course and looked for where the smell of blood and death was thickest. It was everywhere but eventually I found the trail and followed. As I neared the door another doctor awaited me, he didn't look familiar to me so he wasn't from Forks.

"Good even Dr. Cullen my name is Fitzroy. I am the head medical surgeon in Los Angeles."

"What, if you don't mind, are you doing here in Forks Dr. Fitzroy?" I really could care less, but the fact he was from Los Angeles gave my interest a little jump.

"They found a bus ticket near the boy, it was from Los Angeles so they asked me to come and see if I could identify if it was any attack from an animal in our territory."

I sighed and nodded, he was government I could already tell. Sometimes when an attack happens that's serious enough and strange enough, the human government sends one of there own to watch. His little lie was so horribly put together it made me want to laugh. But I just nodded and let him follow me into the room; I wondered if he already knew what my patient looked like? Would it be disgusting enough to make me cringe, or bloody enough to twist at my throat?

As I entered my more well known colleagues were all seated around a large life containment cell. It was merely a giant plastic bubble placed over severely wounded or important figures; small slits were made so pure oxygen tubes could be placed in, and a viewing square along the sides. We hadn't used one before in this hospital but in others long ago I had seen it. Also in a television movie I vaguely watched one night when Bella was over, I often tried to act human enough around her to make her comfortable but I am sure the vampire life is her knew commonality.

"Dr. Cullen thank you for making it so quickly, we are sorry we had to awaken you at this hour for… this…" one of the men gulped, he was seated as far away from the viewing blocks as possible.

"From what we gathered, he is 19 years old, his hair was red, green eyes, and average builds. He was attacked by… something… on the main highway around 4 hours ago. It doest seem like he crawled anywhere cause there wasn't a blood trail, nor were there foot prints or animal tracks within a mile radius of his position. The damages his body sustained are… fatal in all cases. He will be dead by the morning more or less but we need you to see and try and tell us what it could have been."

I just nodded and walked towards the pod. As I came closer the other doctors cleared the way for me. I wish I hadn't have gotten so damn close.

It was a boy alright, he was completely nude in the pod; his skin was, in the best terms, gone. It's as if someone had taken a knife and sliced the skin from his collar down off. Nothing but the gushing red muscles showed, several entrance points along the stomach showed stab wounds more or less, his arms were horribly attacked. Ligaments were missing, cuts and stabs going from the shoulder blade to the wrist where a cross was sliced against the veins on both arms. But his head was much different, the skin that remained was pale as night, only from the loss of blood. His hair was a mix of blood and flesh but it was red no doubt. His eyes were an emerald green; a small cut had been made over the right one that would end up scaring into that of a hero's mark. In the old days it showed that someone with great physical strength had been wounded in a battle they chose to be in. But through all of the attacks and blood loss he still breather, barely, but he still did none the less.

As I came closer to the containment pod his emerald eyes snapped up and gave me a dead glare. It shocked me so bad that I took a step back, he was conscience and fully aware of his surroundings. His fingers clenched up as he saw me though, as if he knew what I was. When they clenched a spurt of blood shot out and onto the pad he lay upon. The boy kept his cold eyes on me for a good long while before the dimmest of smiles came to his lip and I could swore they mouthed the word I dreaded he knew.

_Vampire._

I shook my head shocked at awed at him, he knew… he knew.

"Dr. Cullen? What should we do sir?" one of the many nurses spoke up behind me.

For a while I was silent but then a shuttered and turned to them.

"Put him in a private room. I wish to view him alone… now"

My voice must have had the malice and anger to it that I heard so many of our enemies speak; it must not have sounded like me at all. The nurses just nodded and the doctors stepped back. Even Fitzroy seemed stunned at my temper. But they all got up to leave one at a time. I walked outside and pulled out my phone, I needed Edward here to help me with this one.

As I turned back to face the boy again I was stunned to see his eyes had become less intense, they were saddened, depressed, longing for something that I just couldn't tell. I shook my head and waited for him to be moved to his private room so I could speak with him. I kept my eyes on him at all times and finally he made two words with his lips, it seemed to pain incredibly to move them but he did it none the less

_Melissa_

Probably a woman he loved before the attack

The final word made me want to scream made me want to kill the whole room of idiot human doctors who think themselves gods of the weaker ones. It was the word that everyone should fear, the word that at one time meant peace but now I am fully aware it means death.

_Volturi_

How could a human know them! Of all of the deepest darkest creatures in the history of deep dark creatures why them! Damn the Volturi! Damn Aro! Damn Jane and Alec! Damn Demitri, there tracker, for all I know this could have been his own little gift as a warning to us. But no… a human no matter what the Volturi did to give a warning to us, would not know there name, they are the most preciously kept secret in the world when it comes to humans. How did this boy end up here… and what did they have to do with it?

I turned and left the room with a growl tearing at my throat for its release; Edward would be here in a matter of minutes I needed to get myself under control. I watched as a few nurses wheeled his pod out of the viewing room and into a disclosed tiny little single surgery prep room. No windows, one door, a bathroom, and nothing more; just what we needed right now.

"Vicky if my son Edward shows up, tell him to come to this room please, and make sure no other doctors bother us."

She just nodded half asleep, the girl wasn't meant for an all-nighter even if she was like this during the day half the time. I closed the large metal door behind me and moved to sit beside the boy. The small drip sounds of the IV become mundane after a while. The constants weak beep of his heart rate like a musical pattern I couldn't understand. As I sat there he seemed to relax his eyes looking lazily at me at all times.

"You know what I am…" I spoke gently

His head nodded once.

"You know of our order the Volturi."

His fingers clenched again, another gush of blood.

"What happened to you?"

The boy let out a soft moan and closed his eyes now looking away for the first time since I saw him. He either didn't want to remember or couldn't get it out of his head. Whatever the choice it was bad, even for a human it was bad.

"I am sorry… but even if you live long enough to start walking… you can't be allowed to. If you don't die everyone here will be at risk. You know too much."

His head snapped forward at me as if he tried to lunge. Blood shoot from small wounds, his eyes glared with the green fires of hell. He opened his mouth his teeth were sharp for a human, but nothing came out. Only a quiet shriek as if his wind pipes were filled with jelly.

"So you don't wish to die… what then; revenge?"

The boy laid back down his head bobbed once seeming to get a little motion back in his spine.

"For yourself? That's crazy. You're just a human you couldn't even take on an old decrepit vampire on your strongest of days."

He shook his head, no. It wasn't for him? Or was it he believes he could fight? God I needed Edward here. This would be much easier with an interpreter of great skill such as him.

And speak of the devil if he was real, there came Edward his face stone like. No likely he was upset for being disturbed in his endless nights of Bella Watching. It was strange how angry he could get if he didn't get to see her enough, almost like a drug that was actually good for him. But besides that, Edward came in his hair was always messy from these long nights of lying beside his lover. He nodded once to me and then closed his eyes his hand moving to rub his temples.

"Something wrong?"

He looked to me with a questioning glare, "He's thinking too much… so many short phrases and pictures… its like standing in front of a VCR and holding down fast forward. Either he has too much on his mind or he is trying to keep me away…"

I shrugged and looked back down at the human he seemed to be glaring at me again his cold emerald green eyes focused on me with such intensity it made my feet twitch slightly. I shook my head and looked back to Edward.

"Just give me the run down of the repeating phrases and words…"

Edward nodded and sat down those hazel eyes of him were calm as he watched the boy biting his lip slightly digging deeper into the boy's mind.

"Melissa… she was… one of us he says."

So like Edward, there were plenty of other vampires that could be in love with a human and not end up killing them, well by the looks of it not ending the job.

"He was in love with her; she was going to change him on there 3 year anniversary… in a month. But that's all the happy memories… they were of her and him together forever." Edward's voice was a little cracked; he related more with this human right then and there then any other person on this planet.

But then his once hazel, loving eyes had turned black as night, "Volturi…"

I nodded once and waited.

"They came for Melissa saying words about him being a danger to the vampire world if allowed to change; he would be a danger to her. When she still wanted to change him they took her away. There were 4 of them… I don't recognize any of there faces, but one of them had breath that felt like ice on his arms. They took him away, separating them from each other. But he doesn't have any more memories of what happened after that, just repeating in fast order. But there is a name that keeps popping up, I don't know if its his name or the name of the Ice Tongue…"

Edward looked up at the boy his mouth was a hard line as his hand moved to rest against the plastic.

"Lucien…"

Before any of us could realize it the boy's hand began to tremble, his body started shaking violently. He tried to move with all of his might pulling on the IV's and moving so fast, that tiny streams of blood fell onto his bed. He was surely not this Lucien, and no doubt it was the Volturi private guard that had taken his love away, the one with the ice breath. Edward nodded once and placed his hand back on his lap sighing.

"Carlisle… you know better then us all the punishment for a vampire if they reveal our secrets to a human. But… why did they do it to her? She was going to change him like I am going to Bella eventually." He looked down perplexed by this all; it stung at his chest no doubt to see how different his life could have been.

I sighed and looked down nodding, "He said that the Volturi thought him a danger to the world, he must have special abilities hidden inside of him that if not controlled by Aro and his men would eventually cause them great discomfort. No doubt once they realize he is still alive, they will come to finish the job."

The boy looked to me now again, his eyes were tearing behind the blood, and he stared up at me with such pain, such longing for a new life. I knew what he wanted before Edward could tell me.

"He wants you to change him… he wants to find his love… he wants to kill this Lucien."

I looked down, this wasn't the dark ages anymore, and I couldn't just turn people into our kind as easily as I once did. And I knew by doing this no doubt my family would be put in danger. But Edward looked at me with a nod still, it shocked me to the bone, he hated what he were more then any of us. But somehow I knew that the bond these two shared was deep, if he was in the boy's situation no doubt he would want to change as well.

"Edward… what about the family… this is very dangerous I can't just do it to the boy now and just hope it all works out."

My son, my eldest and fastest son, stood to face me with a nod. He was going to talk with everyone and try and change there minds so that I had to change this child. Damn it all to hell, how did I always get into these situations?

"His name is Michael…and I vote to have him changed…"

I looked down and sighed rubbing my forehead and nodded looking at the boy, Michael, his eyes softened a bit and looked back up at the ceiling. Something told me any amount of pain he would endure would be worth it for his mate. I looked to Edward and nodded again.

"Go… tell Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, Esme, and Bella to come here as fast as they can."

Edward turned around and blinked once, "Bella?"

I laughed and stared at him, "You know the feelings this boy shares with his mate more then any other person on this planet. Do you really think not including yours to this situation would make it fair? Besides, she is family now even if she still sleeps; she gets a vote just like all the others. It will make Michael see that he isn't alone in this world, that he doesn't share the pain of losing his mate, or in this case almost losing his mate."

Edward just nodded and walked out of the room, once out of the hospital he would begin his run through the trees to tell my family of the new problem we have to face. I looked back down at Michael and smiled.

"You know even if they don't vote to have you changed, Edward is going to make me do it in the end… he loves a human like your Melissa did. No doubt he will help you through it all; I just wish you the best of luck young one."

Michael smiled softly there in his bed, his heart rate slowed to an average pace, as he watched me I knew in my mind what he was thinking, not of killing Lucien, or the pain he will feel, only that now he could finally be there to help his mate to make her at ease.

I just hope the Volturi hadn't killed her yet.


End file.
